Craig Calcaterra

The Rule 5 Draft is one of the bigger agenda items at the Winter Meetings. Big in the sense that it’s in the biggest room they have here, everyone goes to it and, unlike so many of the other official events, it’s one of the things that people may talk about throughout the season when…

This is rich: Steve Garvey, who famously got into all kinds of financial difficulties a few years ago — and who has had multiple paternity suits filed against him — wants to rescue the Dodgers. He says he has an investment group that will take the team off Frank McCourt’s hands and place Garvey in…

Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies would like to give Carlos Gonzalez a six or seven-year deal, which would likely cost the team something like $100 million. That directly from team owner Dick Monfort: “Why? Well, I haven’t talked directly with Carlos, but I know he likes it here. And as…

Lost in all of the big Melky Cabrera (and Carl Crawford) news last night was word that the Phillies signed lefty Dennys Reyes to a one-year deal. It’s for $1.1 million with a $1.35 million option for 2012. More important: this deal fills the Phillies’ roster spot dedicated to relief pitchers with a troublesome and…

Whew! Just woke up. So sad about it too because I was having a great dream. Dayton Moore signed — get this — Melky Cabrera. I know. Crazy! Almost as crazy as someone actually reporting on someone’s death before knowing for sure that the person is dead. And that would never happen! Oh well, back…

Yes, he dined with the Yankees, and sure, anyone can swoop in if they wanted to, but Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles reports that two sources close to Carl Crawford are saying that he’s going to the Angels. Which, for what it’s worth, a lot of people are saying down here in Orlando. Saxson…

This is in response to the Luke Scott stuff, obviously. And I disagree with it even if the reader is 66% correct in his first sentence: Craig, you are such a pinko communist tool. You certainly are not qualified to comment on anyone’s beliefs, even those that aren’t part of the orchestrated drivel the “news”…

And you thought the Gold Glove awards were screwy: the Dodgers were just named the Topps Organization of the Year. The Topps award is given to club that “has shown outstanding performance, depth and talent throughout their Major and Minor League teams.” I guess that technically doesn’t include the owners’ suite, but can you imagine…

The Baltimore Orioles issued a statement this afternoon in response to the multimedia freakout that has gone down in the wake of Luke Scott saying that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States: “Luke Scott’s comments do not reflect the opinion of the Baltimore Orioles organization. The fact is that Barack Obama is our…

As a good and proper fanboy, I felt obligated to swing by Fredi Gonzalez’s managerial availability a few minutes ago. Of note: He likes the team. Said “we have a lot of good players.” Whew! I can’t imagine the awkwardness that would go down if he said all the players sucked; He is obviously happy…

Darek Braunecker represents Cliff Lee. He’s been very busy during these Winter Meetings. No, not busy negotiating a contract, but busy telling various reporters about all the offers he’s fielding. Really, there some reporters who won’t be able to order a drink down in the lobby tonight because they don’t know how to talk without…

A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. Anyway, multiple sources are reporting that the Pirates and Orioles are both trying to get Kenshin Kawakami from Atlanta. The winner will be determined by which of those teams is willing to take less from the Braves to cover the $6.67 million owed to…

Bob Dutton reports the specifics of the Jeff Francoeur deal: $2.5 million with bonuses that could be worth $500,000. There’s also a mutual option for 2012 at $3 million. He also gets $100 million if he leads the league in walks. OK, maybe not. But I’d put that in there if I was Kansas City…

He only represents the third-biggest available free agent at the moment, but Scott Boras still draws a crowd. This was the man holding court, as he does every year, right outside the media room. It was hard to get close, but I heard him say something about 31 or 32 being young these days. Tune…

This is pretty much how it goes all week here: Writer A says that the Washington Nationals are poised to sign Adam LaRoche; Writer B says, no, nothing imminent. There are talks, nothing more, and other teams are still interested. Then everyone rushes to see who is listed as LaRoche’s agent in order to try…

Adam Rubin of ESPN NewYork reports that Ken Oberkfell will be named Mets bench coach. Oberkfell has managed the Mets’ AAA teams in their various locations for years, manages down in the Dominican Winter League and served as the Mets’ first base coach for a spell in 2008. He’s a company man who is now…

I saw Dayton Moore and the Royals signing Jeff Francoeur at the paddock before the second race. I saw Dayton Moore and the Royals signing Jeff Francoeur outside the men’s room before I placed my bet. I saw Dayton Moore and the Royals signing Jeff Francoeur before they got up this morning. Now Ken Rosenthal…

The man who has insisted that there are multiple seven-year offers for Cliff Lee — Jon Heyman — reports this morning that, to the extent they exist, they may be mooted by a big offer from the Yankees: six years, $140-150 million. There are many around the lobby here today who believe that for all…

Over the summer Major League Baseball released this monster book called “The Official Major League Baseball Opus.” You can read details about it here. The upshot: it’s gigantic, has 1000 pictures in it and costs $3,000. Buy one for the person you love! They put one of these in the media room this morning. I’m…

UPDATE: The “lovers’ spat” mentioned below is over. Bob Nightengale reports that the White Sox and Konerko have reached a three-year deal. The details: $37.5 million total, but a huge amount of the year-three money is deferred. It will go $12 million in 2011, $12 million in 2012, $6.5 million in 2013 and then $1…

Yesterday Orioles’ DH Luke Scott came into the media room here at the Winter Meetings. No real reason, it seemed. He was with Buck Showalter when Showalter was doing his manager availability, and was kind of standing around. I snapped this picture of him because I thought it was pretty sweet that he was walking…

This is kinda insidey, but it had everyone at the Winter Meetings dying laughing in the bar last night, so it’s worth passing along. When the vote for the Veteran’s Committee choices from the Hall of Fame came down on Monday, a lot of people in the media room started to speculate about who failed…

When last we considered Cliff Lee, we were hearing word that he had two seven-year offers on the table. The guy reporting that was Jon Heyman. Since then, many people have voiced their skepticism that there really are two seven-year offers out there. And not just guys like me who consider Heyman to be a…

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports that the Cubs have agreed to a deal with Carlos Pena. It’s believed to be for $10 million. This makes sense for Pena, I think, who can use a year in the friendly confines to build up value and then return to the market next winter when there won’t be…

UPDATE: It seems that’s over. Multiple sources, including Evan Grant and others who were reporting a possible Michael Young trade, are now saying that it’s not happening. The Rangers have approached young and told him as much. To the extent the trade was going to be to the Rockies so that Texas could then sign…